ADEQ and Gordon-Darby implement a Gas Cap Distribution Program

PHOENIX (March 14, 2014) – Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) officials announced today that they will be lowering Vehicle Emissions Inspection fees by more than 25 percent – from $27.75 to $20 – for Phoenix metropolitan area residents who have 1981 and newer cars and light duty trucks. More than one million vehicles are tested in the Maricopa County area each year. Drivers in the Tucson area already pay less.

In addition to reducing fees on July 1, 2014, ADEQ will be instituting a Gas Cap Distribution Program in Maricopa and Pima counties through its contractor, Gordon-Darby Arizona Testing, Inc. More than 75,000 vehicles fail each year because of a faulty gas cap. When the gas cap fails, the owner currently must leave the testing facility to purchase a replacement gas cap and then return for a free retest once the cap has been replaced.

ADEQ’s Gas Cap Distribution Program will provide the vehicle owner with a new gas cap at the time of a failed inspection – eliminating the need to leave and return. If the particular gas cap size is unavailable at the testing station, a $5 prepaid card will be offered to motorists to help cover the cost of a new cap.

Given that motorists sometimes wait several days before replacing their gas cap, this program will immediately provide an environmental benefit by reducing emissions from gasoline evaporation from faulty caps. This program will also increase the number of vehicles that pass inspection during a single testing procedure, and reduce the frustration of waiting in line for a second emissions test.

“I would like to thank our contractor, Gordon-Darby Arizona Testing, Inc., for partnering with ADEQ on this innovative program. This is just one of many examples of how ADEQ is responding to the Governor’s Four Corners of Reform initiative and the Legislature’s demand for better, faster, cheaper performance from State agencies,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin.

Darwin also noted that motorcycles were exempted from the vehicle emissions testing program in June 2013.

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